Highlights: 22/1/2012: Arsenal vs Manchester United (1-2) (Robin van Persie; Antonio Valencia, Danny Welbeck)

The extensive highlights of the match lost against Manchester United can be seen below. It was Arsenal's third successive defeat in the league and the pressure is on to turn a new page and go back to winning ways.



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Arsenal vs Leeds United (FA Cup Third Round): Highlights

Thierry Henry is back. And so are his goals. Arsenal's goal in the 78th minute after coming on as a substitute in the FA Cup Third Round match against Leeds United was vital for Arsenal to make it through to the next round. The match finished with the score of 1-0. Henry replaced Chamakh on the 68th minute and got on the scoresheet ten minutes later with a perfect angled finish after Alex Song's pass. To call it a perfect return for the 34 year old is very much appropriate. Henry went on to hug Arsene Wenger on the touchline in celebration of the goal. The last 20 minutes of the game are a must-watch for Arsenal fans for whom Thierry Henry remains their idol. The referee of the match was Mark Clattenburg and the attendance was 59615.







The players fielded were:

Arsenal
13 Szczesny
06 Koscielny
18 Squillaci
49 Miquel
08 Arteta
15 Oxlade-Chamberlain (Walcott 68)
16 Ramsey
17 Song
23 Arshavinyellow card
39 Coquelin (Yennaris 33)
29 Chamakh (Henry 68)

Leeds
01 Lonergan
22 Lees
28 White
29 Thompson
48 O'Deayellow card
07 Vayrynen (Brown 60)
15 Clayton
16 Pugh
17 Townsendyellow card
20 Nunez (Forssell 81)
10 Becchio (McCormack 74)

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Official: Thierry Henry re-joins Arsenal on loan for 2 months

Arsenal have officially confirmed the loan signing of former star player Thierry Henry from New York Red Bulls for 2 months. The legendary striker will wear the number 12 shirt at Arsenal and may play in up to 8 matches if fully fit and selected. Henry was Arsenal captain and like his successor Cesc Fabregas, made the move to Catalan giants Barcelona. Henry won all competitions possible in one year in 2009 under the guidance of manager Pep Guardiola.

Henry had joined the club from Juventus in 1999 and was transformed into one of the most feared strikers in the Premier League, scoring 226 goals in 369 appearances for Arsenal. Interestingly, while playing for Juventus, Henry used to play as a winger not as a striker. Recently Arsenal had unveiled a bronze statue of their former star player alongside those of Tony Adams and Herbert Chapman.

Below you can read the comments of Thierry Henry and Arsene Wenger:

THIERRY HENRY

"It is unreal to be honest. But when it comes to Arsenal my heart will always do the talking."


"Once I knew the plan behind it I was OK with it. I am not coming here to be a hero or prove anything, I am just coming here to help. People have to understand that."


"Marouane and Gervinho are going to the Africa Cup of Nations, so I was asked to fill in the gap. It is a loan deal and I’ll be on the bench most of the time. If I can make the bench that is!"


"The boss has a team here already who are doing something good. I am just going to be part of the squad."


"I want to send a message to the fans of New York Red Bulls as well. I always said I would not play in Europe again. But it is hard for me when it comes to Arsenal."


"I am not coming here for the whole season, I will be back and I want to win the MLS Cup with the Red Bulls. I hope it is win-win situation where I can help Arsenal and come back fit for the MLS season."

ARSENE WENGER

“I am very happy, It was my desire and Thierry’s desire. We will have Thierry for January and in February and then he will go back to the United States."


"I am sure during these two months he will be a massive asset to the team in the dressing room and on the pitch. He can be relaxed, not under too much pressure and be a tremendous help to the team.”

Arsenal Away Shirt voted 2nd best in 2011/12 Premier League

In a vote which included all 20 clubs in the 2011/12 Barclays Premier League, football shirts website Football-Shirts.co.uk asked its viewers to vote for their preferred home shirt, and then for their preferred away shirt. Hundreds of votes were received throughout the term of the vote. Both the home shirt vote and the away shirt vote were won by Norwich City's kits, due to a direct link on the club's official website to Football-Shirts.co.uk. However, in the away shirt vote, Arsenal managed to rank 2nd behind Norwich's green away shirt. The full result of the Final between the best 4 clubs can be seen below:

Link to the vote's result

Fulham vs Arsenal: Highlights

In another surprising result this holiday season, Martin Jol's team managed to get one over Arsene Wenger's 10-man team. Djourou got sent off in the second half and this sparked a late comeback from Fulham, bringing the game level to 1-1 through Steve Sidwell in the 85th minute for Bobby Zamora to score in the second minute of injury time. The goalscorer for Arsenal was Koscielny in the 21st minute. We had predicted a draw in the match and it appeared that it would finish that way before Squillaci's mistake gave Fulham the chance for a winner, which Zamora gladly converted. You can watch the highlights of the match below from this miserable match for Arsenal fans played at Craven Cottage.





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Preview: Fulham vs Arsenal

In a crowded fixtures list in the festive period, Arsenal take on Fulham at Craven Cottage in the first match in the year 2012. The game is played at 5:30 GMT and the referee will be Lee Probert. The last time Fulham beat Arsenal was in August 2008. Wenger will probably start with Walcott, van Persie and Gervinho up front. The last time that Arsenal met Fulham was in November 26th at the Emirates, where a 1-1 draw was characterised by an own goal by Vermaelen and a goal for Arsenal by the same player.

Since 2008, Arsenal have won 3 encounters with Fulham and another 3 matches finished in a draw. With van Persie failing to break Alan Shearer's 36-goal in a calendar year record by just one goal (35 goals in 2011), he is likely to get on the scoresheet again on Monday. Dempsey is Fulham's most dangerous player, having scored 9 times this season in all competitions. Fulham have only won the London derby against QPR (6-0) this season, losing against Tottenham, and finishing with a draw in three other derbies. Senderos, an ex-Arsenal player, is likely to be at the heart of Fulham's defence.




Prediction: The fact that Fulham are playing at home helps them with the majority of supporters backing them. Having drawn against Norwich and Chelsea in their last two matches, we predict that Fulham will also hold Arsenal to a draw on Monday.

Arsenal vs Queens Park Rangers: Highlights

Robin van Persie scores Arsenal's 300th London derby goal as Arsenal get 3 valuable points to move into the 4th position in the league table. View the full highlights of the match below, and place your bet on Arsenal winning the next game against Fulham:

Preview: Arsenal vs Queens Park Rangers

On the last day of 2011, Arsenal take on QPR at 15:00GMT at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal are coming from a home draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers and QPR are also coming from a draw against Swansea. With Szczesny guarding the Arsenal goal as usual, Arsene Wenger will probably field Djourour, Mertesacker, Koscielny and Vermaelen in defence. Mikel Arteta will probably feature in midfield alongside Ramsey and Song, with the front line being composed of Walcott, Gervinho and star-striker Robin van Persie.

Van Persie stands a chance of breaking a record this Saturday for th biggest amount of goals scored in a calendar year. He is only two goals away from matching Alan Shearer's 36 goal feat. With a hat-trick against QPR, van Persie would break Shearer's record. But the past record is not in Arsenal's favour. In fact, out of 8 Premier League matches in the past played against QPR, Arsenal have won just one match. QPR won two matches and 5 matches finished with a draw.

Another notable milestone would be reached if Arsenal score a goal against QPR, and this would be their 300th goal in a London derby. The last time the two clubs met, Arsenal crushed their opponents QPR 6-0 at away stadium Loftus Road in 2006 in the fourth round of the FA Cup. In Arsenal's last 4 home matches, they have failed to score more than one goal in each game.

Prediction: With QPR failing to win any of their last 6 matches, and Arsenal winning three out of 6, we predict a victory for Arsenal on Saturday. QPR have not kept a clean sheet in their last 9 matches, which means that Arsenal are very likely to score their 300th London derby goal this Saturday. At the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal have lost just once this season, and they are unlikely to register their second home loss of the season against QPR.

Thierry Henry to play for Arsenal for two months at 34 years, joining on loan

Arsenal will look to bring club legend Thierry Henry to the new Emirates Stadium and pair him with in-form Robin van Persie once again. After David Beckham's widely-publicised loan move from United States club LA Galaxy during the off-season in America, it seems that now it's Henry's turn to make a similar move to his old club from New York Red Bulls.

Thierry Henry, who is aged 34 and in his 8 seasons at Arsenal etted 226 goals, will be available for the matches against Manchester United and Tottenham in the Premier League, as well as the Champions League encounter with AC Milan. The move has been officially confirmed by Arsene Wenger himself when he said:

"For two months it certainly will happen. I don't take care of the agreement and the insurance and that is not completed."

"At the moment we cannot announce anything because all the paperwork is not done."

"To cover for two months is ideal. He has the experience and the quality. He knows the club and can help the players on and off the pitch."

"He has exceptional talent and is a very intelligent man, it can only be positive."

"He is still class and has quality. He still has pace. When Robin and Thierry play together we will do very well."

"It shows that Arsenal is always special to players, such as Sol Campbell, Jens Lehmann and now Thierry."

"We are not looking for permanent players unless we lose players, as we have a big squad."

"It was my idea [to bring him back to Arsenal during the off-season in America]. He was happy about it, but it was my idea."

"No-one expects him to be what he was 10 years ago. There's no special pressure, Robin remains our main striker."

Champions League: Arsenal lose 3-1 against Greek club Olympiakos

In a game where Arsenal fielded youth players as they were already ascertained of the first place in the group and qualification, the Londoners could afford a bad result in this match. The fight for qualification in 2nd place was between Marseille and Olympiacos, and the former's victory over Dortmund put them through to the knock-out phase in place of Olympiacos. Arsenal conceded three goals and could only get one goal through Benayoun. Fabianski conceded the first goal by Djebbour and was then substituted in the 25th minute. Young Italian goalkeeper Mannone took his place and conceded a goal by Torrijos in the 36th minute. Benayoun got one back for Arsenal, but they conceded again late in the match in the 89th minute through Modesto. Unlike Manchester City and Manchester United, Arsenal join Chelsea in the Last 16 of the UEFA Champions League, being the only two clubs left representing England.

Watch the highlights of the match below:


Olympiakos Piraeus v Arsenal by arghofar

FA Cup Third Round Draw: Arsenal vs Leeds United

Arsenal have been drawn at home to face Leeds United once more in the Third Round of the FA Cup with Budweiser.

The Gunners will host Simon Grayson's side for the second year running the competition, following the 1-1 draw with the Championship outfit at Emirates Stadium last season.

Arsenal eventually won the replay at Elland Road 3-1, with goals from Samir Nasri, Bacary Sagna and Robin van Persie securing victory.

The fixture will be played on the weekend of January 7.

Third Round draw in full:

Middlesbrough v Shrewsbury
Nottingham Forest v Leicester City
Manchester City v Manchester United
Dagenham & Redbridge/Walsall v Millwall
Crawley v Bristol City
Doncaster v Sutton Utd/Notts County
Bristol Rovers v Aston Villa
Tottenham v Cheltenham Town
Sheffield Wednesday v West Ham
Milton Keynes Dons v QPR
Hull City v Ipswich Town
Coventry v Southampton
Brighton v Wrexham
Fulham v Charlton Athletic
Birmingham v Wolves
Norwich v Burnley
Arsenal v Leeds United
Derby v Crystal Palace
Fleetwood/Yeovil v Blackpool
Swindon v Wigan
Barnsley v Swansea
Chelmsford/Macclesfield v Bolton
Newcastle v Blackburn
Everton v Tamworth
Sheffield United v Salisbury City/Grimsby
Liverpool v Southend/Oldham
Gillingham v Stoke
Chelsea v Portsmouth
Watford v Bradford
Peterborough v Sunderland
West Brom v Cardiff
Reading v Stevenage

Source: http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/arsenal-to-face-leeds-united-in-the-fa-cup

Arsenal win 4-0 against Wigan Athletic

On the 3rd December, Arsenal registered a 4-0 victory over Wigan, demolishing the team's tactical plan. Wigan drew widespread criticism for their performance. The goals of Arsenal came from Arteta and Vermaelen (back to back in the 28th and 29th minutes respectively, Gervinho in the 61st minute and star player van Persie in the 78th minute. Watch the highlights of the match below:


Wigan Athletic v Arsenal by mbabpool

11th September

On the 11th September 1893 came the first victory for Woolwich Arsenal in the Football League. Back then, the club was playing in the third division. The match was against Walsall Town Swifts, the predecessor of current League One club Walsall FC. In this match, John Heath scored three goals, and it was the first hat-trick by the club in the third division. Woolwich Arsenal won the match by the score of 4-0.

The 11th September 2003 was the date when Cesc Fabregas joined Arsenal from Barcelona's youth academy. He had been a Barcelona youth player for 6 years. Eventually, he turned out to be a great acquisition for Arsene Wenger and one which goes down in the history books of the club as one of the best players to feature for Arsenal. A century of assists, 57 goals and 303 appearances was his input to the club in the 8 seasons that he played for them as a senior player. He joined Barcelona again on the 15th August 2011. After helping Arsenal win the 2004/05 FA Cup and the 2004 Community Shield, and reaching the Final of the Champions League in 2005/06, Fabregas left for his childhood club for the fee of £29 million.

10th September

On the 10th September 1904, Arsenal played their first home match in the First Division at Manor Ground in Plumstead. The club was still known as Woolwich Arsenal at the time. This first home match in the top division in England was played against Preston North End and finished with the score tied at 0-0.

104 years later on the 10th September 2008, young English winger Theo Walcott became England's youngest player to score a hattrick for the English senior team against Croatia. The match was played away at the Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb, and England registered a 4-1 win over the Croatians.

9th September

A bit of early history of the club. Going back two centuries, to the year 1893, Woolwich Arsenal played their first away match in the league on the 9th September. The predecessor to the current Arsenal FC played Notts County in the league and lost by the score of 3-2. Arsenal's goals were scored by Arthur Elliott and Walter Shaw.

8th September

On the 8th September 1970, Arsenal were hosted by Ipswich Town at Portman Road in the Second Round of the League Cup. The Gunners could not find a goal that would settle the game in their favour, and a replay had to be played after the match finished with the score of 0-0. The performance at home stadium Highbury was more convincing as Arsenal ran out 4-0 winners.

In 1984 on the 8th September, Arsenal defeated Liverpool by the score of 3-1 at home stadium Highbury in the First Division. The victory meant that Arsenal went straight to the top of the First Division table: something which the fans had been longing for for 12 years since 1972.

7th September

The 7th September 1945 is the birthdate of former Arsenal player Peter Storey. Storey played in the position of full back and also defensive midfielder. In total, the English player from Surrey made 501 appearances for Arsenal between 1965 and 1977, where he scored 9 goals. He moved to Fulham in 1977 but played for the other London club for just one season before bringing down the curtain on his career. Between 1971 and 1973, while at Arsenal, Storey earned 19 international caps for England. Storey is the 8th player in the ranking of players who have appeared the most for Arsenal.

More recently in the year 2007, on the 7th September Arsene Wenger renewed his contract with Arsenal until 2011. The contract extension was reported to be worth £4 million per annum. Arsene Wenger's comment at the time was, "My heart is tied to this football club. It has deep-seated roots and a tremendous heritage. It is my aim to uphold these values and help create new history for future generations. Arsenal is the club of my life. I have been entrusted with complete freedom to implement and execute my plans on what will make the team successful. That means I have a responsibility to the fans to deliver silverware and also a responsibility to the players to help turn our potential into prizes." During the period of this contract extension, however, Arsenal failed to win any domestic or European title.

6th September

Morris Bates was a full-back for Royal Arsenal between 1886 and 1890. Bates was nicknamed the 'Iron Man' and captained Royal Arsenal as they won their first trophies: the Kent Senior Cup and the London Charity Cup. In total, Bates played 73 first team matches for Royal Arsenal. On the 6th September 1905, Morris Bates died at the age of 41 from tuberculosis.

On the 6th September 1913, the first match at Highbury was played against Leicester Foss. 20000 fans attended the opening of Arsenal's new stadium. Previously they used to play home games at Manor Ground in Plumstead. Highbury was the home stadium of Arsenal between September 1913 and May 2006, when they moved to the new Emirates Stadium. George Jobey scored for Arsenal after Leicester Fosse's Tommy Benfield opened the score. The win for Arsenal depended on the late penalty converted by Arsenal's Archibald Devine. At the time, the pitch was not yet finished and had a distinctive slope. George Jobey was injured and he had to be taken to the dressing room on a milk cart.

5th September

On Saturday the 5th September of the year 1970, Arsenal's English winger George Armstrong scored twice in a match against arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Arsenal beat their rivals by the score of 2-0 at Highbury thanks to Armstrong. Later in the season, Arsenal also beat Tottenham at their home stadium White Hart Lane to complete a double over their biggest rivals. In the 1970/71 season, Arsenal lifted both the domestic league title and the FA Cup.

4th September

On the 4th September 1946, Arsenal played a First Division match at Highbury against Blackburn Rovers, and the Gunners lost by the score of 3-1. Reg Lewis was the only goalscorer for Arsenal. Arsenal at the time were managed by Geogre Allisson, which led them to 2 First Division titles, 1 FA Cup and 1 Charity Shield.

Hat-trick hero Alan Sunderland

In the year 1979 on the 4th September, Arsenal registered their biggest winning margin ever in the League Cup when they played Leeds United and beat them 7-0. The match was contested at Highbury and was the replay of the Second Round of the competition. Alan Sunderland scored a hat-trick, Liam Brady scored two penalties, and Sammy Nelson and Frank Stapleton scored a goal each.

Arsenal's new signing: Mikel Arteta

Mikel Arteta started his youth career in 1994 at the age of 12 at the amateur Spanish football club Antiguoko Kirol Elkartea in the Basque Country. This amateur club produced talent such as Xabi Alonso and Javier de Pedro. Arteta then moved to Catalonia, joining Barcelona's youth academy in 1997. In 1999, the Spanish midfielder started his senior career by playing for Barcelona's B team. He was loaned out to French club PSG between 2000 and 2002 to get match experience, and he played 31 league matches for the French club in which he scored 8 goals.

Arteta moved to one of Scotland's biggest teams in 2002: Glasgow Rangers. He spent 2 seasons at this club where he scored 12 goals in 50 league appearances. He moved back to Spain in 2004 to play for a club which is a parent club to Antiguoko Kirol Elkartea, the youth club where he started his football career. The midfielder was loaned out to Everton in 2005 and did enough to convince the club to sign him on a permanent deal. He played regularly for the club for 7 consecutive seasons, and was again set to be a key player in the 2011/12 season before he moved to Arsenal. For Everton, Arteta appeared 208 times in all competitions. He scored 33 goals and made 41 assists. He will be remembered in the club's history as one of the best players to play for the club. He wa stwice named player of the season for Everton: 2005/06 and 2006/07, as well as Players' Player of the Season in 2005/06, Sky Sports Midfielder of the Year in 2006/07 and North West Player of the Year 2006/07.

Mikel Arteta's wife is former Miss Spain, Lorena Bernal. He has a close friendship with Xabi Alonso, and while the latter played for Liverpool, the two used to be neighbours at the Albert Dock apartment complex in Liverpool. Arteta can speak English very well, as well as French, Italian, his mother tongue Spanish, and the Basque and Catalan languages.


Just minutes before the 2011 summer transfer window shut down, Mikel Arteta became Arsenal's fourth signing on the 31st August 2011. He joined the club for a reported £10 million on a four-year deal. He was signed to fill the boots of Cesc Fabregas who moved to Barcelona, and to strengthen the midfield department which was depleted following the departure of star players Fabregas and Nasri. Arteta will wear the number 8 jersey. This number was worn by Samir Nasri before he moved to Manchester City.




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3rd September

Going back to the early years of the club, on the 3rd September 1904, Arsenal played their first game in the top division in England at the time, the First Division. Like the first Football League match was played against Newcastle United back in 1893, Arsenal kicked off their First Division campaign with a game against Newcastle United. Woolwich Arsenal, as they were known at the time, lost the match by the score of 3-0.

Goalkeeper George Swindin made his debut for Arsenal on the 3rd September 1936. His debut came in a match against Brentford, which the club lost by the score of 2-0. Swindin played for Arsenal between 1936 and 1954, and played in 297 league matches. Years later, he was manager of Arsenal between 1958 and 1962. Swindin died in October 2005 at the age of 90 years.

On the 3rd September 1994, Sir Billy Wright, who managed Arsenal between 1962 and 1966, died of stomach cancer at the age of 70. In his playing days, Wright played as a centre-half for Wolverhampton Wanderers, for which he made 490 league appearances. He also featured for the English national team between 1946 and 1959, making 105 appearances in the England jersey.

2nd September

Going back several years in the history of Arsenal, the 2nd September 1893 was the first time that Woolwich Arsenal played a Football League match at Manor Ground in Plumstead. The match was played against Newcastle United in front of 10000 spectators. Manor Ground is situated in South-East London, and was used by Woolwich Arsenal between 1893 and 1913, and by their predecessor Royal Arsenal between 1888 and 1890. When the team moved to Arsenal Stadium (popularly known as Highbury), they changed the name from  Woolwich Arsenal to Arsenal FC. The first match at the stadium against Newcastle finished with the score of 2-2, with Woolwich Arsenal at one time leading 2-0.

Again on the 2nd September, but in the year 1908, George Morrell took charge of his first Woolwich Arsenal game after he took over as manager. The game was played at Monor Ground and Woolwich Arsenal were heavily defeated at the hands of Everton by the score of 4-0.

1st September

On the 1st September of the year 1934, Arsenal played Liverpool in a league match at Highbury. The match finished with the astonishing scoreline of 8-1 in Arsenal's favour. Both Ted Drake and Ray Bowden scored 3 goals each in this match, while Jack Crayston scored his first goal at Highbury. Arsenal eventually won the league, which was the third successive time they achieved this success. The match coincided with approximately the 21st anniversary since Woolwich Arsenal played their first game at Highbury stadium.

31st August

John 'Jack' McClelland was a goalkeeper who played for Arsenal between 1960 and 1964, appearing for the club in 46 league matches. On the 31st August 1963, McClelland was injured after 22 minuted in the match against Leicester City. The Gunners were losing 2-0 when the goalkeeper was injured. Joe Baker, a centre-forward, volunteered to cover for the absence of McClelland and guard the goal himself, but his efforts did not prevent Leicester from winning with the score of 7-2.

On the 31st August 2006, William Gallas signed for Arsenal from Chelsea, with unhappy left-back Ashley Cole moving the other way. Apart from the player swap, Chelsea paid Arsenal £5 million. Chelsea were found guilty of tapping up Ashley Cole in January 2005. Even though he sounded his desire to leave the club, Ashley Cole had signed a new contract at the time. Eventually, his destination was still Chelsea. Gallas was named Arsenal captain in 2007 but was removed later for criticising his teammates in a media interview. Gallas would sign for rivals Tottenham Hotspur in 2010 after his contract with Arsenal expired.

One year later on the 31st August, French midfield player Lassana Diarra joined Arsenal from Chelsea in another deal between the two clubs. Diarra spent just five months at Arsenal as he became unhappy that he was not getting the first team action he had hoped for. For Arsenal, the French player appeared in just 7 league matches. He moved to Portsmouth in 2008 for a fee in the region of £5 million. He would play for Real Madrid between 2009 and 2011, getting a fair share of first team action, as he appeared in 68 league matches for the Spanish club. Diarra joined Arsenal's biggest rivals Tottenham in 2011.

30th August

Gerard Pieter (Gerrit) Keizer was the first foreign player to wear the Arsenal shirt. Back in 1930 on the 30th August, Keizer made his debut for Arsenal in the 4-1 victory over Blackpool at Bloomfield Road. Keizer was a Dutch goalkeeper who was highly successful in Holland and was one of the first foreign players to play in Great Britain football. He used to play for Arsenal and then travel to Holland at night to play for Ajax the next day, earning himself the nickname The Flying Dutchman.

Then-manager Herbert Chapman eventually got tired of the young Dutch keeper and dropped him from the first-team in October, never to pick him again for the first team. He moved to Charlton in July 1931 and continued to fly between his native country and England. He also imported football kits into Holland with him as Ajax could not afford them at the time, and in 1947 was caught by Dutch Customs trying to import British bank notes, which at the time was a crime. He was fined and sent to prison for 6 months, after which he started a greengrocer business and in 1955 became director of Ajax. Gerrit Keizer, remembered as the first foreign player to play for Arsenal, died on the 5th December 1980.

29th August

Taking a look back at the early years of Arsenal, we start by looking at the 29th August 1925, when Arsenal lost 1-0 against arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the first match of the 1925/26 season. And to make the loss worse, the match was played at Highbury in front of 53183 supporters. The proceeds from the gates of the stadium were supposed to go to then-manager Leslie Knighton, and they would have amounted to around £4000. However, Knighton was fired by Arsenal chairman Sir Henry Norris before the match was played, and was replaced by Herbert Chapman. Knighton alleged that he was sacked only because Norris did not want to pay him the proceeds from the match against Tottenham. This was the first match in charge for Herbert Chapman and also the debut of striker Charles Buchan.

On the 29th August 1987, striker Alan Smith scored his first goal for Arsenal against Portsmouth after making his debut in the 2-1 loss against Liverpool two weeks earlier. Smith, who joined the club from Leicester in 1987, went on to play 265 league matches for Arsenal and scored 86 goals. He helped the club win two First Division titles, the FA Cup 1993, the League Cup 1993, and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1993/94. Smith is currently a commentator with Sky Sports. He was commentator of the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final alongside Martin Tyler.

28th August

On the 28th August of 1928, an 8 1/2 feet clock was placed on the North Bank of Highbury Stadium, to be moved to the opposite end of the ground, the College End, in 1935. This clock originally gave fans a 45-minute countdown of each half, but the Football League made the club change it to an ordinary clock.

In the year 1982 on the 28th August, striker Lee Chapman made his debut for Arsenal against his previous club Stoke City. Chapman joined Arsenal in 1982 after attracting their interest due to his goalscoring abilities. He scored 34 goals in 99 league matches for Stoke. However, his Arsenal move was not a success as he played just 23 matches in which he scored 4 goals. Neither was his debut, as Arsenal lost 2-1 against Stoke at the Victoria Ground.

On the 28th August 1993, Ian Wright, who played as a striker for Arsenal between 1991 and 1998, entered the UK pop charts with his song 'Do The Right Thing'. This song peaked at the 43rd position, and stayed in the charts for two weeks. For Arsenal, Wright scored 128 league goals in 221 league appearances after he joined the club from Crystal Palace.

Listen to the song below, thanks to drcstim:

27th August

Brynmor Jones, known as Bryn Jones, was a Welsh inside-forward who played for Arsenal between 1938 and 1949. Jones scored on his debut on the 27th August 1938 against Portsmouth. He continued to find the net in two of his following games, but then he managed to score just one more before the end of the season. During his 11 years at Arsenal, he only managed to score 7 league goals.

On the 27th August 1997, Dutch second-striker Dennis Bergkamp scored a hattrick against Leicester City at away stadium Filbert Street. In that match, Arsenal drew with the score of 3-3. Bergkamp, who joined the club from Italian club Inter, played for the club between 1995 and 2006, and retired from football in 2006 while still at Arsenal.

On the 27th August of the year 2008, French attacking midfielder Samir Nasri made his UEFA Champions League debut for Arsenal against FC Twente and scored in the 4-0 victory over the Dutch club. Arsenal won in the Third Qualifying Round of the 2008/09 Champions League with a 6-0 aggregate over FC Twente to go through to the Group Stage.